


i want to drive away with you

by nervousbakedown



Category: Crooked Media RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, Autumn, Dialogue Heavy, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Idiots in Love, Intimacy, M/M, Road Trips, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-06 05:49:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21221621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nervousbakedown/pseuds/nervousbakedown
Summary: “You wanna just, go?” Tommy asked, a few moments later. He switched into a more serious tone of voice. Quieter.“Go... to Boston?”“Yeah. Or somewhere nearby, where we could see the leaves. And pumpkins.”“I’d have to check, but I think we have vacation days left to use.”“Okay then,” Tommy smiled. “Let’s go.”-Jon and Tommy take a mini vacation back home to Massachusetts, where they enjoy the leaves, crisp air, go pumpkin-picking - and, of course, fall in love.





	i want to drive away with you

**Author's Note:**

> "No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace  
As I have seen in one autumnal face."  
–John Donne, _The Autumnal_

Jon sat on the chaise lounge on his back patio. Or, more accurately, he stuck to it as the Los Angeles sun beat down with no mercy. At other points of Jon’s life, early October would feel different from September, but not now. Not here.

Beside him was Tommy, whose own face bore the reality of the sun’s intensity. He wore sunglasses but Jon could tell he was still squinting at his phone, barely able to see it in the sunlight.

Tommy’s shirt was clinging to him from sweat. It wasn’t oppressively hot, but the sun was something neither of them had gotten used to yet. Jon chastised himself internally for being a moron; he still had not invested in a patio umbrella.

“Yo, I’ve had enough,” Tommy said, moving to stand up. He swung his legs around the lounge chair toward Jon rather than away from him.

“Ready to go in?” Jon asked. He got a nod from Tommy, still intently looking at his phone. Tommy wiped sweat off his brow while Jon stood up, right next to the space Tommy’s legs took up.

“It’s fucking 50 degrees in Boston right now,” Tommy said. That must’ve been what he was looking at. He sighed, tsked under his breath before continuing to give Jon a weather report of home.

“Partly cloudy. UV index of 3. Nice day,” Tommy said.

“Auditioning to be the new weatherman?” Jon joked.

Inside, they went to the kitchen. Jon fetched two beers from the fridge while Tommy hoisted himself up on the counter, like he was still in his twenties and living in a rental and wanted to seem cool.

“Nah, I’m just - I don’t know,” Tommy shrugged. “I always liked fall.”

Jon snickered, but the more he actually thought about it, he loved fall too. Growing up in New England, he took it for granted. When he lived in DC, fall took longer to get crisp and was shorter, but still enjoyable. Here? Fall lasted a week, if they even got it.

“Yeah,” Jon nodded. “I don’t miss winter, but I do miss fall.”

“Oh yeah, I’m not stupid,” Tommy laughed. “I had too many bad driving in winter experiences to miss that.”

“Did you go to pumpkin patches?” Jon asked. He sat down on the kitchen island across from Tommy. Tommy kicked his feet and smiled.

“Yeah! Fucking loved this one like an hour from our house,” Tommy recalls.

“I sucked at carving,” Jon shook his head, taking a sip from his beer, an autumnal IPA.

“Did you do leaf peeping?”

Tommy said leaf peeping as though he was some hoity toity host of a nature documentary, which made Jon crack up.

“No,” Jon said. “No way you did.”

“My aunt took me a few times. Only went ‘cause she was loaded and we’d go to nice restaurants for dinner in the resort towns and shit,” Tommy said.

“Aww, little Tommy leaf peeping,” Jon mocked him, fondly. Tommy rolled his eyes.

There were a few long, contemplative moments where Jon and Tommy did nothing but sit across from each other and think about their past lives when there was autumn. Jon thought about chilly football nights, fires at friends houses, carving pumpkins, cool eerie breezes while trick or treating.

“Now I really miss all that. Why’d you bring it up?” Jon whined.

“‘Cause it’s always hot and dry here and I’m…” Tommy struggled to come up with the right words. “I’m an east coast bitch at heart!”

Jon laughed again at Tommy’s vocabulary, but the statement resonated. “Me too... me too.”

“You wanna just, go?” Tommy asked, a few moments later. He switched into a more serious tone of voice. Quieter.

“Go... to Boston?”

“Yeah. Or somewhere nearby, where we could see the leaves. And pumpkins.”

“I’d have to check, but I think we have vacation days left to use.”

“Okay then,” Tommy smiled. “Let’s go.”

“Okay,” Jon agreed.

Tommy held out his beer for Jon to toast. “Let’s go do fall.”

“Let’s do fall!” Jon grinned, leaning forward and clanking their bottles together.

~

When they disclosed their plans to their coworkers, not all of them understood why Jon and Tommy were going out east. Priyanka was one of the few that got it, as a self-proclaimed “basic bitch who loves fall.”

“I’m jealous, honestly,” she said, petting Pundit, on the couch in Jon, Tommy, and Lovett’s office. “Oh, I should make you a TSA approved pumpkin dessert to take with you!”

“No, that would be - don’t waste your baking on us, jeez,” Tommy protested.

“You could enjoy them with the actual ambiance of fall, though.” Priyanka said matter of factly. “Here, I just bake hoping it will magically change the temperature outside.”

Jon sighed. “Well I guess we can’t stop you.”

“Cool. I’m doing it. How long are you staying?” Priyanka asked.

“Three days, right?” Tommy looked to Jon. Jon nodded.

“Yep. Long weekend.”

Jon got the sense Priyanka wanted to pry more, wanting all the details of all the fun fall festivities they’d do, but she held back.

“I’ll make enough pumpkin brownies for two men for three days.”

“So, two whole batches?” Tommy teased.

“Hah. Hah,” Priyanka replied sarcastically.

~

There wasn’t much in the way of preparation they had to do. Leading up to their long weekend, Jon and Tommy sent suggestions for activities to each other on Slack in between work related messages. They talked about their plans over lunch some days, and Lovett made fun of them without much bite. Jon guessed he was probably secretly jealous.

Jon left booking the accommodations to Tommy. Jon trusted him with them, knowing he’d probably mess it up himself. Eventually, two days out, all they had to do was pack.

They were bringing Leo and Lucca, which may have been silly for a three day trip, but they wanted them to see fall. Jon got out his long sleeve shirts, button downs, and hoodies. He found a pair of boots at the back of his closet. He even threw in a heavy coat that he’d bought for their Europe tour, just in case, before getting Leo’s bag together.

~

Jon was his usual anxious self as he and Tommy sat in the airport, waiting at their gate. Truthfully, it was too goddamn early, but Tommy wanted them to have the whole day free once they landed in Boston. Jon watched Tommy read the news on his laptop, deciding to abstain from that activity himself since it would only make his brain feel more crazy.

They were mostly quiet. Jon wondered if Tommy had told his mom they were coming. Jon had told his parents, who had fallen in love with Southern California weather since they moved out there. They thought Jon and Tommy were crazy, but wished them a good time. Well, maybe they could stop in and surprise Louise if Tommy didn't tell her. That would be nice, Jon thought.

Jon began to feel more good-anxious than bad-anxious, thinking about visiting Tommy's mom. That made him think of walking around Tommy's neighborhood with the dogs. Going to the pumpkin patch with the dogs! Hopefully Lucca wouldn't freak out at all the people. Jon smiled to himself. It was going to be a fun weekend.

Tommy, of course, caught it.

"What?"

Jon shrugged, petting Leo, who was sitting well-behaved on his lap as usual. "Nothin'."

~

The flight was rather pleasant - a fact that Jon would always be hesitant to admit if it came to pass, but a true one nonetheless. He even caught a couple hours or so of extra sleep, Leo soundly asleep on his lap. Lucca was a little more of a handful, but Tommy handled her well. He gave her a bone to keep her occupied and listened to music until they began the initial descent.

Once they were back under the clouds over Massachusetts, fall appeared in all its brilliance. Jon stared out the small plane window at the suburbs, the bright reds and yellows and oranges of the trees, dotted like an impressionist painting. He nudged Tommy on the shoulder and told him to look out the window.

Tommy leaned over Jon, trying not to squish the dogs. When he saw what Jon saw - a bird's eye view of New England autumn - he let out a soft "holy shit!"

Jon was just as stunned, captivated. It felt like it'd been so long since he'd seen fall. After a quick mental calculation, he realized it had been almost two years. Last Thanksgiving, the Favreaus and Vietors came out to Mark and Lil's place in Thousand Oaks. So that makes the last time Jon was in New England during fall the Thanksgiving before that, before his parents moved. Almost two years, then, for both him and Tommy.

When Boston came into view, the intensity of the leaves disappeared, but Jon still felt giddy. The last time he was here was for the Pod Tours show in the spring. He and Tommy went to a Sox game afterwards with several of their employees who were nowhere near as excited as they were. Even though the Sox weren't in the postseason this year, a fact that made Jon and Tommy very upset, they would have to swing by Fenway anyway.

They learned it was a little after noon upon landing and that it was 50 degrees. Jon thought they might have to get their heavier coats out of their bags once they got them from baggage claim. He and Tommy held Leo and Lucca like babies as they deplaned; they held them all the way to baggage claim since there was so many people. After that, they'd acquire their rental car.

After that, a short drive back in the direction from which they came.

~

A two hour drive after a five hour flight would normally make Jon cranky, but they’d stopped at Dunkin before they hit the road, so he was happy. He held both Leo and Lucca in his lap while Tommy drove west, as the city disappeared and the trees reappeared, their colors even brighter up close. They listened to a local radio station because they couldn’t figure out out to connect their phones to the rental car. After some initial complaining, they decided the station wasn’t that bad, and that this was what getting older must feel like.

Jon turned down the volume so he could talk to Tommy.

“You never told me where we’re staying,” Jon said.

“A bed and breakfast,” was Tommy’s answer.

“Oh,” Jon made a shocked face. They were going around a bend. He glanced out the window and the leaves were bright red. “We’re doing an authentic autumn experience, then.”

Tommy chucked to himself. “Out near woods it’s either the bed and breakfasts or a shitty Motel 6. Or camping. Did you wanna camp?”

“Not now. Well, not ever,” Jon said, holding the dogs tight as they went around another bend in the road.

“Okay then. It’ll be nice, trust me.”

~

“Leo has to go to the bathroom,” Jon announced when they were a half hour away from the inn.

“What? Okay. Wait, how do you know?” Tommy quickly glanced between Jon and the road, one hand on the wheel and another in Lucca’s fur.

“When he just stares at me,” Jon said. He turned to Leo, met his eyes. “There, I told him. Hopefully we can find a spot to pull over.”

“Lucca probably has to go too,” Tommy said. “Hell, I have to go.”

“Me too. Too much coffee.”

A few minutes later, Tommy spotted a dirt and gravel pull off area on the road. They let their dogs sniff around and find trees to pee against. Jon let Leo sniff around some more after he was done. He caught Tommy taking a picture of them with his phone.

“Gotta document our wild excursion,” Tommy justified his action even though Jon didn’t say anything.

“Ah, yes, the harrowing wilds of central Massachusetts,” Jon laughed.

Tommy laughed too at Jon’s overly dramatic tone. They got back in the car and had to console the dogs because they both didn’t want to get back in.

“We’re close. Don’t worry, Lee,” Tommy reached over into Jon’s space and scratched Leo under his chin.

~

The bed and breakfast Tommy picked out was so New England, Jon almost laughed when they pulled into the driveway. With its cream colored siding, colonial vibes, at least three floors and a wraparound porch, it was perfect for their fall fun weekend. Once he and Tommy parked in the gravel driveway, Jon noticed someone out on the porch of the inn with a broom, dusting leaves off.

Jon held Leo and Lucca by their leashes, while Tommy insisted on grabbing their suitcases. The dogs sniffed around, checking out the new territory.

The foyer was fancy without overdoing it, rustic in the sense that it was clearly old but well maintained. In the middle was a grand staircase. To the right was the front desk, decorated with a scarecrow in the corner and a string of fake leaves; behind it were little wooden mailboxes for each room.

As Jon and Tommy approached the desk, a homely older woman with curly grey hair came out to greet them.

“Good afternoon! How are you boys?” she smiled.

“Good,” Jon beamed.

Tommy nodded. “A little tired, but good.”

Leo and Lucca walked a little behind Jon. The woman saw them and gasped. “Oh aren’t they precious!”

“Thank you,” Jon and Tommy said at the same time, which made them laugh.

“They’re our kids,” Tommy grinned.

“I love it!” The woman smiled. “So, do you have a reservation with us already?”

“Yes, it’s under ‘Vietor,’” Tommy said, setting his elbow on the desk. Jon tended to the dogs behind him, letting them curiously sniff around the lobby.

“They seem well-behaved,” The woman said while she clicked things on the computer. A moment later, she produced a paper for Tommy to sign and a pen.

“Yeah, they’re the best,” Tommy took the pen and signed where he needed to.

“Weekend getaway for you two?” The woman asked.

“Yes,” Tommy finished signing the paper and smiled, pushing it back toward the woman. She got a key to their room from a hook - an actual key, huge and old-looking, affixed with a little tag baring the number 300.

“Well, we hope you enjoy your stay here. My name is Charlotte, if you need anything. My wife’s name is Lynn - you probably saw her sweeping outside - and she’ll be around too.”

Tommy took the key and smiled. “Thank you so much.”

Tommy handed the key off to Jon and picked up their bags again. There was no elevator, which meant lumbering up the stairs to the third floor. The huge house’s design was such that the rooms were configured in a rectangle, with railings along the hall rather than walls that afforded a view of the stairs and foyer in the middle.

Along the walls were the occasional painting of a ship or a still life, a small table with a lantern. There were evenly placed wall sconces on the pastel blue walls.

Tommy sighed from tiredness once they reached their room. “This is like a period drama on HBO.”

“Only thing missing is the British accents,” Jon replied. He stuck the key in the door, hesitated a bit from not knowing which way to turn it. He turned it right and heard a click. The door opened.

“Yeah, no way they’d put a Mass accent on HBO,” Tommy jokes.

Jon pushed open the door to reveal a room as quaint and classy as the rest of the building - two twin beds placed against a wall, ample space between the beds and bureau, a flat screen TV on the wall. The bathroom door, a slim wooden door painted white to match the baseboards and moulding, was ajar. The far window was big, with an old time-y lock, no screen; the carpet a light tan color that was probably listed in a home furnishings catalog as “oatmeal.”

“Haven’t slept on a bed like this since college,” Tommy said as he set his and Jon’s suitcases down next to the first bed.

A big armchair sat in the corner next to the bathroom door. Leo and Lucca sniffed around the room, making sure it was okay. Jon unclipped their leashes. Once Leo was satisfied, he went over to the chair and hopped up onto it. Lucca didn’t seem too amused, staring at Leo. Jon thought she might be wishing there was room for her too.

“Holy shit, dude,” Tommy sighed as he hefted himself down onto the bed. “I’m tired.”

Jon sat down on the bed across from him, furthest from the door. “Me too.”

“I’m not a napper,” Tommy yawns, “but I could so nap right now.”

“I mean, you can,” Jon sighed, sitting back against the comfy feather pillows. “Do we have a strict itinerary?”

“Absolutely fucking not,” Tommy replied, earning a laugh from Jon. He continued, bringing his arms up above his head, “there’s just this restaurant I wanted to take you to for dinner. But it’s open until like ten o’clock, so.”

“So we have time then. Go ‘head, nap.”

Jon watched as Tommy unlaced his sneakers, slipped them off, and kicked them gently to the floor. He sat up enough to take his coat off and dropped it to the floor in between their beds. Lucca scampered back over and hopped up onto the bed with Tommy, making herself comfy up by his head.

“Wake me up in an hour or so, then,” Tommy smiled at Jon before turning onto his stomach, head turned away from him.

“‘Kay,” Jon replied.

Jon took the time to catch up on the news of the day. He connected his phone and iPad to the bed and breakfast wifi. He sent a few tweets; he completely ignored his email. It got old after only a half hour. Jon put his phone and iPad on the bedside table. He looked outside the magnificent window at the slowly falling golden leaves against the grey, yet somehow still bright, sky. He slid down the bed so he was lying down, propping a pillow underneath his neck. Jon turned on his side toward Tommy to see if he was sleeping.

Tommy appeared to be asleep, the soft sound of his breathing occupying the otherwise quiet room. Lucca was sleeping, too, right beside him. Jon watched his chest move ever-so-slightly – ugh, he would never understand how stomach sleeping is comfortable. He traced his eyes down Tommy’s long legs, to his feet hanging off the edge of the bed. The flight and drive must’ve tired him right out. Jon smiled to himself, knowing how hard it is for Tommy to sleep sometimes, knowing how grumpy he is when he doesn’t get sleep. He was glad Tommy was getting some rest. That was what this trip was for, after all.

Jon watched Tommy for an indeterminate amount of time. Jon eventually turned onto his back and reached for his phone so he could check the time. It had been almost an hour, not quite. He decided to let Tommy sleep a little bit longer.

When Jon finally decided to wake Tommy, he’d been sleeping for about an hour and a half.

“Tommy,” Jon said in his direction. “Wake up.”

Tommy lay motionless. That didn’t work.

Jon rolled off the bed. He felt a little dizzy upon standing, which made him realize he and Tommy definitely needed to go to dinner and then shop for basic provisions like water and snacks and dog food. Jon padded over to Tommy’s bedside. He reached down and shook Tommy’s shoulder.

“Tommyyyy,” Jon held the last vowel, “wake up.”

“Hmmph,” Tommy groaned. He shifted onto his side, hugging his pillow.

“Come on,” Jon continued in a sing-songy voice, hand on Tommy’s shoulder not even moving anymore. “Dinner time. Oh, and we gotta get dog food.”

Tommy made another groaning noise and rolled onto his back, dislodging Jon’s hand. Tommy’s eyes fluttered open, still in the process of waking up. He smiled when he saw Jon, and Jon couldn’t help but smile at how dorky he looked.

“I let you go a half-hour longer than you said, come on,” Jon laughed.

Tommy yawned. “Your fault then,” he stretched his arms. “Any longer than an hour and I just wanna keep sleeping.”

“Sorry,” Jon replied sarcastically before offering, in all seriousness, “I’ll know that for next time, then.”

Tommy finally sat up. He rubbed his eyes and yawned again. When he looked up at Jon, he seemed actually awake. “What did you do while I was out?”

“Just watched - watched the leaves,” Jon shrugged.

Jon sat back down on the edge of his bed while Tommy put his shoes back on, picked his coat up off the floor. Jon put his own coat back on, put Leo and Lucca’s leashes back on. Tommy announced that he had to pee before they left, so he went and did that. When Tommy came out of the bathroom, Jon asked him where they were going and volunteered to drive.

Tommy seemed thankful Jon wanted to drive.

“It’s on Wachusett Mountain,” Tommy said.

“Frilly?” Jon asked.

“Sorta. I’d just say ‘resort town nice’ - I don’t know, it’s been awhile.”

Jon laughed at that, as Tommy led them out of the room, dogs in tow. Jon locked the door behind them. They’d have to drive a ways to get there, and drive even more to a grocery store.

They had only about an hour of daylight left to admire the leaves for the day.

~

The restaurant and bar had the following attributes: high ceilings, wood everywhere, and a table in the corner with a stunning view down the modest mountain. It was no Green or White Mountain forest, like Jon remembers from his childhood vacations, but it was beautiful; it was homey. A light fog had settled in as the sun went out.

Jon turned back around from gawking out the window to look at Tommy across from him. Jon put his chin in his hand as he continued to peruse the menu - basic in a refreshing way, in contrast to the more frilly LA joints he’d become accustomed to.

Tommy looked beyond Jon at the sky for about a second before refocusing on him. “Pretty.”

“Yeah,” Jon agreed.

A waitress came over a moment or so later.

“Hi, can I get you gentlemen something to drink?” she greeted them.

“What’s the most expensive beer you have?” Tommy asked.

Jon laughed into his hand. “Tommy.”

The waitress smiled. “That would be the Southern Tier pumpkin IPA.”

“Then that’s what we’re having,” Tommy grinned.

“That fits with our whole theme, I guess,” Jon giggled.

“Theme?” the waitress asked, clicking her pen.

“Yeah, we’re on an autumn retreat of sorts,” Jon explained.

Tommy added, “We’re from Boston, but live in LA now. Long story short we missed having seasons.”

“Well you picked the right place,” the waitress grinned at them. She gestured to the window behind her. “Can’t beat that view.”

“Yeah,” Jon agreed.

“I’ll be back with your drinks and to take your order, okay?” she said.

“Perfect,” Jon nodded.

“Take your time,” Tommy said, meeting Jon’s eyes.

Jon smiled at Tommy and shook his head, “Southern Tier, expensive. You were right, it’s different out here.”

“I know right?” Tommy smirked. He reached down to pet Lucca at his feet. “‘S kinda nice. Hey, so you said we need dog food? Where’s the nearest grocery store?”

Jon opened up Google maps on his phone.

“Do you want to go to…” Jon paused, searching. “Market Basket, or a country store?”

“Country store? That sounds dope.”

“Yeah?” Jon laughed under his breath, glancing up at Tommy. “Okay we’ll go there.”

“We should also get some human food,” Tommy said.

“Of course, Tom,” Jon starred the country store before locking his phone, flipping it face down. He matched Tommy’s grin, the one he does when he’s being a little shit and he knows it. Jon realized, at that moment, just how much he adored it.

~

They both ordered steak and potatoes, after the waitress touted it as one of their specialities.

“Look at us,” Jon said as he cut into his steak, “being such manly men.”

Tommy laughed, face going red. He kicked Jon in the leg. Whether it was on purpose or not, Jon didn’t know, but he decided to kick Tommy back. Tommy kicked him again.

“So manly,” Tommy said.

The two took their time with eating, almost totally clearing their plates, making chit chat along the way. Jon filled Tommy in on the news they’d missed during traveling that he learned during his nap. They scrolled Twitter together on their phones while they waited for dessert.

“Oh, shit!” Tommy covered his mouth when he saw the waitress coming with their huge freshly baked peanut butter swirl brownie.

They both said thank you to her when she set it down in the middle of the table. “Oh my god,” Tommy said. “I’m in love.”

Jon rolled his eyes. “You’re like a dog.”

Tommy narrowed his eyes in confusion.

“You love peanut butter,” Jon explained, tone indicating that the comparison was obvious.

Jon took a bit of the brownie on his fork at the same time Tommy did. Tommy, however, was quicker to eat it, moaning obscenely once it hit his tongue. Jon shook his head. It was a good brownie, yes, but Tommy clearly liked it more than Jon. He always did have more of a sweet tooth than Jon.

“Anything else that makes me like a dog or was that just to say I like peanut butter,” Tommy wondered. The asshole.

Jon leaned in closer to the table, elbow on it. It was easier to eat off the shared plate that way. Jon stared at the brownie as he talked.

“Well, you are loyal. Trustworthy. Would attack an intruder. You don’t pee on my carpet, thankfully.”

Tommy giggled so hard he fell back into his seat. Jon glanced up at him, but then promptly averted his eyes, focusing on getting a perfect bite of brownie. Tommy’s eyes were too much, for whatever reason. Jon found his face getting warm. It was awfully hot in the restaurant.

“You just wait,” Tommy joked, raising his eyebrows and pointing at Jon with his fork. “That’s my last phase - peeing on your carpet.”

Jon shook his head, rested his chin in his hand. Tommy reached down to pet Lucca and spent a few minutes just looking at Jon.

It was dark by now; the soft amber lighting of the restaurant gave Tommy a nice glow. Between that and the nap earlier, he looked awake and refreshed. Happy. Jon, for his part, felt like he couldn’t stop smiling. He hoped he looked similarly happy in Tommy’s eyes. This was already worth the trip, and they still had two whole days left.

They tipped the waitress well once they were done eating and decided to leave. Once they got to the car, Jon opened his Google Maps again to see where the country store was exactly.

“There,” Jon handed Tommy his phone. “You can be navigator.”

“Okay,” Tommy took it. He only took a second to look over the screen before frowning. “Dude, it’s fucking closed.”

“Aw, god dammit,” Jon sighed.

“We’ll just go to Market Basket,” Tommy said. He queued up the directions and turned Jon’s volume up loud, so Google could tell him where to go. They kept the radio off so he could hear. Maybe, at some point, Tommy could figure out how to connect their phones to the car.

“It’s only...forty-five minutes away,” Tommy sighed.

Jon sighed and turned the key in the ignition.

“Why’d we do this again?”

~

They were almost there when Jon went around a turn a little roughly. Tommy completely overreacted, sticking his arm out like he was about to grab the wheel.

“Whoa there, soldier,” Tommy grumbled. “You good?”

“Fine,” Jon shifted in his seat. “It’s just a little dark, that’s all.”

“I’m driving home,” Tommy declared. “Anyway, we’re almost there.”

A few minutes later, they pulled into a small plaza where the Market Basket was. Jon carried Leo in, feeling bad for him. He was probably so tired. Fuck, Jon was tired now. It had hit him very suddenly.

Tommy grabbed a basket once they were inside. “Okay. What do we need.”

“Dog food,” Jon said right away.

He and Tommy meandered around the unfamiliar store until they found the dog section. They got the smallest bag they could find, along with a small pack of organic treats. Neither Leo or Lucca were picky eaters, thankfully, so they could buy any brand.

Their owners, however, were a different story.

“Okay, what snacks do you want?” Tommy asked Jon.

“I don’t know. We need some bottled water.”

Tommy led them around, up and down a few aisles, until they found the big one liters of bottled water. He threw a few in the cart. “Okay. What else?”

“Protein bars, I guess?” Jon hugged Leo close, kissing his head. They walked down to the next aisle.

“Okay. I want some peanut butter. Probably should get spoons too, then,” Tommy muttered to himself, throwing protein bar boxes in the basket.

Jon, feeling cranky now, chuckled at Tommy wanting peanut butter. Jon followed Tommy through the aisles, not knowing if he put anything more into the basket or not. Jon followed Tommy through checkout and back out to the car, happy he was taking care of it all.

Jon climbed into the passenger seat, and Tommy took the driver’s seat. They didn’t even have to debate it.

Tommy reached into Jon’s space, slipping his hand in the side pocket of Jon’s coat. Jon only realized what he did after the fact, when Tommy started the car.

“How’d you know the key was there?” Jon mumbled.

“I just knew,” Tommy said, flashing Jon a reassuring smile.

“Hmm,” Jon relaxed into the rental car seat. He looked over at Tommy as they peeled out onto the night time road, dark gray with leaves stuck to it. Tommy turned on the radio to a classic rock station and mumbled along to songs Jon didn’t know under his breath.

~

When they got back to the inn, the owner Charlotte was sitting at the front desk, reading a book.

“Hi, boys,” she greeted them once she noticed them.

“Hey,” Jon and Tommy said at the same time.

“Tired?”

“Yes.”

“Well, get some rest. We’ll be bringing your breakfast up at nine o’clock sharp.”

Jon and Tommy both laughed at her candor.

“Thank you. G’night,” Tommy said.

And so Jon and Tommy lumbered up the stairs, their feet feeling like they had weights attached. Amazing how they could be so tired from a day that mostly consisted of sitting.

They put their small loot of groceries on the desk under the TV, next to Priyanka’s pumpkin brownies.

“Shower now or in the morning?” Tommy asked Jon.

“Morning.”

“Same.”

Tommy rolled Jon’s suitcase over to his bed. Tommy opened his own suitcase against the wall, then promptly, methodically stripped out of his own clothes, down to his underwear. Tommy then threw on a t-shirt, but no pants. All the while, Jon stared. He managed to look away before Tommy looked his way. Jon changed into his bed clothes as well, feeling a little bashful about doing so in front of Tommy. He felt a little better that Tommy was in his underwear, too. Still, it was different. They were close friends, yes, but it’d been a long, long time since they were this physically close. Even in those times, there were no real moments of disrobing in front of each other.

They got the idea to brush their teeth at the same time. The counter and sink were a little smaller than they were used to, to say the least. Jon bumped elbows with Tommy while they both stared into the mirror, avoiding each other’s gazes. Tommy nudged Jon on purpose. Jon nudged him back, giggling. Tommy spit into the sink, and Jon waited for him to come up so he could do the same. They rinsed their mouths at the same time using Dixie cups with boats on them. Tommy let Jon leave the bathroom first, and shut the light off behind them.

Jon worked on shutting the curtains. When he turned around, he found Tommy pouring food into Leo and Lucca’s bowls.

Jon pursed his lips, thankful for Tommy. Fuck, he’d almost forgotten about actually feeding them.

Tommy sat on the floor beside the dogs and watched them eat. Jon went over and sat down next to Tommy. He didn’t need to. He just felt pulled in that direction.

“Thank you,” Jon told Tommy.

Tommy smiled closed-mouthed at Jon. Jon could feel the heat from Tommy’s body, even though they weren’t touching.

“I set an alarm for eight. Just so you know,” Tommy said.

“‘Kay.”

Having finished all that was in his bowl, Leo invaded Lucca’s space, eating out of hers. Lucca paused to lick Leo’s face, but after that, she didn’t seem to mind. They finished that bowl up together. Tommy moved them back against the wall so they wouldn’t trip over them. He stood up and offered Jon a hand to help him up.

Jon, feeling like he was indeed dead weight, took Tommy’s hand. He smiled at Tommy for a moment before averting his eyes and letting go. He went over to his bed, got under the covers. Tommy went to turn the light off.

Once Tommy was in his own bed and the room was dark, aside from the subtle shine of the moon, Jon turned on his side so he could see him.

Tommy was already facing Jon.

“Goodnight,” he said.

Jon sighed a relaxed, contented breath out his nose.

“Goodnight, Tommy.”

~

Sure enough, at 9:01 there was a knock on the door. Jon and Tommy were both already awake, although still in bed. Tommy went to get up and go to the door, but Jon stopped him.

“Put some pants on!” Jon said.

Tommy immediately turned around, his cheeks going red. “Oh. Shit!”

Jon fell back against the pillows in laughter. From his bed, he watched Tommy root for some sweatpants in his open luggage. He pulled them on, bent over, before skipping over to the door. He heard the voice of a pleasant woman who worked at the hotel they haven't met yet, Tori. They exchanged pleasantries. Tori told Tommy to let her know if there’s anything they needed. Tommy thanked her and came back inside, a huge tray in his hand.

He went over to Jon’s bed, prompting Jon to sit up and make room.

“Tommy,” Jon pretended to be surprised. “Breakfast in bed?”

Tommy sat the tray down on the bed and sat down. Jon got out from under the covers and drew his legs up.

“Yeah, made it all myself,” Tommy joked.

“Did you?”

“Mhmm,” Tommy said, lifting the small pitcher of coffee to pour some into both of their mugs. “Picked the beans for this coffee myself.”

“Dreamy,” Jon smirked, watching the white mug fill with steaming hot coffee. He fixed it with cream and one packet of sugar. Tommy just used cream.

They had two plates on the tray, each with a huge waffle, bacon, sausage, and a cup of fruit. They had syrup and butter for the waffles.

“This is fucking good,” Tommy said with his mouth full.

“Very good,” Jon agreed, after he swallowed. “Hey, do you mind if I put on The Daily?”

“Go for it. I need my morning Mikey Barb,” Tommy said, taking a sip of coffee.

They listened to the episode attentively, exchanging looks when necessary in reaction its content. It was a particularly depressing one, about the abuses of a local police force. Jon debated turning it off, but it was important to hear. They were pretty much done eating when it was over. Jon turned on the TV, out of curiosity, and so they watched local morning news for awhile.

Tommy was still picking at his fruit.

“You have syrup on your face,” Jon noticed.

“Where?” Tommy asked.

“Right there,” Jon pointed to the corner of his own mouth. “How can you not feel it?”

Tommy wiped the wrong corner of his mouth. “I dunno.”

Jon sighed, getting off the bed. He went over to Tommy’s side, leaned over him, licked his own thumb before wiping off the syrup on Tommy’s chin with it. Tommy started laughing. Jon put his other hand on the back of his head.

“Hold still,” Jon said.

Jon worked out the stubborn syrup with his thumb. Tommy met his eyes. Jon could feel Tommy’s face getting warm underneath his touch.

Jon laughed nervously once Tommy’s face was clean and his hands were still on him. He smiled at Tommy before pulling back, letting go.

Tommy murmured, “You can have first shower.”

“Okay,” Jon pursed his lips.

~

The shower should’ve made Jon calm, but he still felt like a live wire. He found himself hurrying for no reason. He just wanted to get out of the shower and… well, get back to Tommy. That’s what he wanted. It was the polar opposite of being sick of him, even in such close quarters.

Jon heard the bathroom door open when he was rinsing his hair.

“Tommy?” he asked.

“Just have to pee, sorry,” Tommy said.

“It’s okay,” Jon replied. He froze under the water, trying to hear Tommy. “Hey, so - what’s on the agenda today?”

Jon soaped up with the body wash quickly, rinsed off just as quick. He felt his heart stutter in his chest as he turned the water off. He could hear Tommy clear as day, now. Tommy was still in there. Jon heard the toilet flush before Tommy answered him.

“Pumpkin picking,” Tommy said. “At a pumpkin patch.”

“Ooh.”

“And then apple picking.”

“Ooh!” Jon said. His hand hesitated over his towel draped over the curtain. He pulled it down, blotted himself dry before wrapping it around his waist. Should he open the curtain while Tommy was still in there?

“Yeah,” Tommy said. Jon could hear the smile in his voice.

Feeling bold, Jon opened the curtain.

Tommy wasn’t there.

Jon stepped out of the shower. He walked out into the bedroom, over to his side. Tommy sat on his bed, drinking some water.

“Well, hello,” Tommy said, raising his eyebrows. Jon felt warm all over as he carefully bent down to pick out his clothes for the day.

“Um,” Jon said. “Bathroom’s free.”

“Okay. Thanks,” Tommy smirked.

Tommy stood up. He stripped out of his sweatpants before even going to the bathroom, tossing them on his bed. He did the same with his t-shirt, pulling it up and over his head. He met Jon’s eyes upon tossing it aside - not on the bed, but the floor. Jon froze completely. He stared at Tommy while Tommy ducked his head, blushing, and walked to the bathroom.

Jon was fully dressed and ready once Tommy was done showering. He wore a navy v-neck sweater and khaki pants. He tried not to watch Tommy get dressed, but couldn’t help but sneak a few looks. Tommy had his back turned to him the entire time. Jon watched him pull fresh briefs on - blue and white striped TommyJohns - before dark jeans and a belt. It felt less invasive after that, but Jon still abruptly shifted his gaze back to his iPad when Tommy turned around.

“I fed the dogs,” Jon said.

“Okay. Cool,” Tommy said. He pulled on a white long-sleeved t-shirt over his head. He rooted around in his bag for his belt before putting it on. Jon pursed his lips upon seeing Tommy’s hands in that sort of position.

Jon wasn’t...blind. Of course he thought Tommy was attractive. He just wasn’t directly forced to contend with that fact often. Right now, this whole trip, really, it was in his face. Tommy was there, up close and personal, in all his glory.

Tommy met Jon’s eyes and just smiled at him. Jon was half expecting some kind of joke or comment about it, but Tommy didn’t go there.

“Do you know how cold it is?” Tommy asked.

“TV said not bad. High 50s. Cool breeze. A little bit of sun possible,” Jon summarized the weather forecast that came on while Tommy was in the shower.

Tommy picked up his coat off the floor. “Sounds good. You ready?”

“Yep,” Jon said, getting his own coat off the chair, the dog leashes, portable bowl, and food. Tommy took the food and bowl from him, apparently feeling the need to help.

On their way out, they told Charlotte to tell Tori that breakfast was spectacular. Outside, they said hi to Charlotte’s wife Lynn, who was in a comfy flannel and work boots, getting leaves out of the gutter.

~

The pumpkin patch and apple orchard was, thankfully, only twenty minutes away. The sun was fully out once they pulled in the long winding driveway. It led them to a barn that had all sorts of autumnal wares for sale - homemade soaps, candles, candy, pumpkins and apples that were already picked.

Jon and Tommy looked around for awhile, not finding anything interesting. Jon thought his mom would like a candle, but he didn’t want to risk breaking it on the flight home. They went to the counter and paid for their access to the patch and orchard and were given a sack to put the apples in. Tommy said they should pick a small pumpkin, because there was no fucking way they’d be able to haul it home.

Under the morning sun, Jon and Tommy and Leo and Lucca walked to the pumpkin patch behind the barn. There were… a lot of pumpkins, to say the least. Huge pumpkins. Tiny baby pumpkins. Jon liked the tiny baby pumpkins.

Tommy was a pumpkin perfectionist. Jon kept suggesting pumpkins, but they weren’t good enough. It made Jon laugh. He didn’t expect Tommy to be so serious about the enterprise of pumpkin picking.

“That one’s oddly shaped,” Tommy shrugged off another suggestion from Jon.

“Oh, come on, Tom,” Jon scolded him. “Weird pumpkins need love too.”

“Okay, bleeding heart,” Tommy playfully jabbed back.

They kept walking at a leisurely pace. A few other patrons of the patch stopped to pet the pups. Leo was more apprehensive of strangers than Lucca, who was all too eager to be pet by anyone and everyone. Women in knee high boots fawned over the dogs. One tried hitting on Jon. Jon took her compliment, but Tommy let her know that he did not need a local to show him around, thanks anyway.

“Okay,” Jon smirked at Tommy once the woman walked away.

Tommy looked at him. “What?”

“Awfully aggressive, there,” Jon teased.

“Time and place, man. This is… this is a boy’s trip. And you’re not, you know…” Tommy meandered around his thoughts, “looking for anyone.”

“You’re right,” Jon met Tommy’s eyes. “I’m not.”

“So,” Tommy shrugged, hands in his pockets. “Made her quit while she was ahead. Don’t get your hopes up. The Favreau is closed for business; he’s spending time with his best friend.”

“You just want me all to yourself,” Jon pushed his shoulder into Tommy’s.

Tommy studied Jon’s face. He smiled. It all seemed a little flirtatious. “Maybe, yeah.”

They kept walking, went back to studying the pumpkins.

Soon, Tommy ran ahead towards one. He crouched on the ground beside a small, perfectly round pumpkin with a large stem on top.

“Now this is what I’m talking about,” Tommy said. “Look at ‘er!”

“Now that’s a pumpkin,” Jon said.

“Now that’s a motherfucking pumpkin!” Tommy said.

A woman walking by picked up her pace and covered her young child’s ears.

Tommy weakly waved at her, frowning in shame. “Sorry.”

“Jesus, Tommy...keep this up, you’re gonna get us kicked out,” Jon shook his head.

“Sorry, I’m just excited. Look at this! This is the most perfect pumpkin I’ve ever seen.”

“It is pretty rad.”

Tommy snickered. “Actually, it’s pretty gourd.”

Jon sighed. How was he friends with and possibly flirting with such a dork? “I hate you.”

Tommy tore the pumpkin from the vine and cradled it in his arms like a small baby. Jon giggled. He was so, so ridiculous, and yet he couldn’t take his eyes off him.

“Hey,” Jon said, getting out his phone. “Turn around.”

Jon was ready to take a picture of Tommy. Tommy turned around, a stupid grin on his face. Jon snapped the picture and laughed.

“Ugh, sneaky,” Tommy tsked. “We’ll have to take an actual decent picture.”

They walked a few more rows until they saw a couple with a small toddler. Jon asked them if one of them could take his and Tommy’s picture.

“Sure!” the woman said, volunteering. “I got it. He can’t take pictures,” she said, gesturing to her partner.

Jon handed the woman his phone. He and Tommy stood in front of a row of pumpkins, the many rows and barn behind them. Tommy held the pumpkin in one arm, wrapped his other arm around Jon’s waist. Jon held Leo like a baby, while Lucca sat at Tommy’s feet.

“One, two, three,” the woman counted down. She took a few pictures in a few seconds before handing the phone back to Jon.

“Thank you so much,” Jon told her. He looked at the pictures. He smiled at how happy he and Tommy were.

The woman told them it was no problem at all. She picked up her toddler, and her and her partner kept walking.

“Look,” Jon shoved his phone in Tommy’s face so he could see the photo. Tommy held Jon’s hand steady by covering it with his own.

“Aww,” Tommy cooed. “Send that to me.”

Jon sent Tommy the picture in an iMessage before putting his phone back in his pocket.

“You ready to move on to apples?” Jon took a few big steps to catch up to Tommy, knocking their shoulders together again.

“Boy am I ever. You got the sack?”

Jon pulled the apple sack out of his coat pocket. “I have the apple sack.”

“Sweet.”

~

The apple orchard was all the way on the other side of the barn, which meant Jon and Tommy had to walk in the total opposite direction back across the pumpkin patch to get to it. This wasn’t a bad thing. It was a beautiful day. They paused halfway there to give the dogs and themselves a water break. They sat on a log, laid down on the grass there for sitting purposes. Jon passed Tommy the water bottle, and he drank after him without a second thought.

“What are we gonna do with the pumpkin?” Jon asked Tommy.

“Carve it,” Tommy shrugged, still holding the thing in the crook of his elbow.

“With what?” Jon laughed. “And where?”

“We’ll just ask Charlotte and Lynn for a knife and some newspaper. We’ll do it in our room,” Tommy said.

“I guess they would probably lend us some. They’re really nice,” Jon agreed.

“And if they don't let us, well, we keep it as long as we can,” Tommy said.

“Until it gets confiscated by TSA,” Jon added.

“Yep. ‘Til they put it in that huge chute thing that just shreds it to bits.”

Jon made a sad face. “Poor pumpkin.”

Tommy giggled. “It is kinda a sad thought.”

“Well, you keep holding it like a baby, Tom,” Jon laughed. “Once it has eyes, I’m really going to be fucked up over it.”

Tommy burst into laughter at that, reaching out for Jon with his free arm. He wrapped his arm around Jon’s waist. Jon laughed too, but mostly watched Tommy laugh. He felt good. He liked making Tommy laugh.

“You wanna hold our baby?” Tommy offered the pumpkin to Jon.

“Sure,” Jon blushed. So, he and Tommy had a baby now. He took the pumpkin, cradling it in his arm. “What’s its name?”

“P-pu...uh…” Tommy struggled to think of anything. “Pe...Peter.”

“Peter the pumpkin,” Jon said. “Got it. Okay.”

Tommy moved his arm up so he could sling it around Jon’s shoulder. Jon turned to Tommy, their faces awfully close all of a sudden.

“Are you having fun?” Tommy asked, voice quieter. Serious.

Jon couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “Yeah.”

“Me too.”

They paused for a beat, long enough to wordlessly stare at each other until it became too intense and Jon had to look away.

“Well, if I’m holding the baby, then you hold the apple sack,” Jon held the burlap sack out for Tommy to take.

“I’ll take the apple sack.”

Jon stood up, and Tommy followed him, ready to keep walking.

“I just like saying ‘apple sack,’’ Jon admitted.

“It is fun, isn’t it?” Tommy laughed.

~

The apple orchard was beautiful, and smelled amazing. The sun had gone in, so Jon didn’t have to squint looking up into the apple trees. They decided they weren’t going to fill the sack, but would pick a few - enough to have as snacks and give some to Charlotte and Lynn.

“Tommy, I’m getting tired of holding this,” Jon gestured to the pumpkin in his arms. “Can’t we put it in the sack?”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “Nobody puts baby in the sack!”

Jon laughed. God damn Tommy.

“Okay, fine.”

“I’m just kidding, you can put it in,” Tommy quickly relented, opening the burlap bag for the little pumpkin. Jon giggled and set it inside, making sure it didn't squish the apples that were already in there.

“That was a good joke. I got it,” Jon said.

Tommy just smiled at him. They walked along the path of trees, Leo and Lucca dutifully at their sides. Tommy had Lucca’s leash around his wrist, the bag with their loot in that hand. Jon had both his hands in his pockets.

The wind picked up as the sun went in, a cold breeze that neither Jon nor Tommy were ready for. Jon shivered and zipped his lightweight coat up the rest of the way.

“I can’t believe our flight is tomorrow night already,” Tommy mumbled.

“Jesus, you’re right. Why’d we make this so short?” Jon asked.

“‘Cause we’re stupid,” Tommy replied. He stopped at a tree to pick an apple. Jon looked at the same tree and picked two good looking green apples. Tommy held open the bag for Jon and he gently set them in it.

They decided to head back toward the barn, having half a dozen apples. Jon found himself drifting closer to Tommy as they walked, probably since he was so warm. The backs of their hands brushed every so often.

Jon tried to resist looking at Tommy, but just like this morning, he couldn’t do it. He turned his head while they were walking, not caring if he ran into anything. Tommy noticed Jon’s gaze and turned, too. Tommy pursed his lips and a moment later, Jon felt Tommy grab his hand. Jon held Tommy’s hand, squeezed it a little in acknowledgement. They walked back to the barn for some hot cocoa, holding hands.

They sadly had to let go of each other’s hands to get their hot cocoa. Tommy had to hold his cup in one hand while the other held the bag of apples and their pumpkin. Jon held his cup in one hand, his other free, waiting for Tommy.

They were getting hungry, so they decided to get in the car and see what they could find for a lunch spot. Jon volunteered to drive. Tommy helped him navigate, while Leo and Lucca sat in the back. When they got out onto the road and in the right direction, Jon reached for Tommy’s hand. It was warm against his own cold one. Bigger than Jon’s. Soft. Tommy threaded their fingers together, smiling down at Jon’s phone.

They stopped at a roadside diner that advertised good soup. They had to lie to the hostess and say that Leo and Lucca were service dogs so they could get in - a lie they could get away with since they were so well-behaved. Jon and Tommy ordered the soup of the day, a New England clam chowder. The table was tiny enough that Tommy reached under it in search of Jon’s hand. Jon giggled once he realized what he was going for, and promptly took it.

“So,” Tommy said.

“So,” Jon said.

“I like that sweater on you,” Tommy smiled.

Jon blushed, resting his head in his free hand. “Tommy…”

“‘S true,” Tommy shrugged, had some more soup. Jon did the same. His grip on Tommy’s hand had weakened such that their fingers were just curled around each other. Jon regained his grip on Tommy’s hand, meeting his eyes.

“I like holding your hand,” Jon murmured.

“Ditto,” Tommy blushed.

~

Back at the inn, Jon could tell that he could let Leo and Lucca off their leashes, and they’d follow them. So he gathered their leashes in his hand without reclipping them to them. Tommy got the apple and pumpkin sack.Jon and Tommy met around the front of the car and held hands again. Out behind the house, Jon noticed Lynn raking leaves into a big pile. He also remembered that they needed to let Leo and Lucca go to the bathroom. They went around back and asked Lynn where the best place to do that was.

“Behind the shed, I’d say,” she offered.

Jon and Tommy led the dogs around the back of the shed behind the inn. They didn’t even have to tell them to go, really. They peed and pooped, no fuss. When they came around the front again, Lucca got the grand idea to ruin Lynn’s leaf pile. She ran into it head on before Jon or Tommy could even react.

“Lucca, no!” Tommy sighed. Him and Jon made their way over to Lynn. Lucca followed, eager to be back at Tommy’s side after speeding through and obliterating the leaves.

“I’m sorry,” Tommy said again. “She’s... adventurous.”

“That’s perfectly okay,” Lynn said. “Honestly, we’re the silly ones for wanting to rake up the leaves in the first place.”

“Good point,” Tommy said.

They told Lynn goodbye for now and went around the house to the front.

Jon opened the door, and Tommy followed, followed by the dogs. Charlotte was at the front desk, reading her book.

“Hey, Charlotte,” Tommy greeted her.

“We have a present for you,” Jon said.

“You boys…” Charlotte shook her head, setting her book down. Tommy reached into the sack and took out two apples.

“One for you and your wife,” Tommy took out a third one. “Oh, and give this one to Tori.”

“And we have a favor to ask,” Jon added.

“Oh, no,” Charlotte joked.

“Do you have a knife and newspaper -”

Jon interrupted Tommy.“- and marker.”

“ - so we can carve our pumpkin?” Tommy finished.

Charlotte thought for a moment. It didn’t take long. “Hmm, I think I can lend you those things.” She picked up a sharpie off the desk, crouched down to gather a few old copies of the Boston Globe.

“Two out of three,” she said. “Now, I better not show up on the news tomorrow after I give two strange men my knife…”

“God, no,” Tommy said. Jon just shook his head.

“I’m just messing. I’ll meet you around by the stairs - I have to go fetch one from the kitchen.”

Jon and Tommy waited by the stairs for a few minutes. When Charlotte came back, her long grey ponytail bouncing, she had the carving knife on top of a saran-wrapped plate of cookies.

“Tori made extras,” Charlotte said in explanation. “I hope you like salted caramel.”

Tommy was really moved. “Oh my god, thank you. Thank her, for us.”

“Yeah, please do,” Jon added.

Charlotte told them to have a good afternoon. They went up the stairs, Jon being ultra careful with the knife in hand. He managed to unlock their door without dropping anything.

Inside, Jon set the cookies and knife down on the bureau. Tommy fed and watered the pups, watched Jon set newspaper and the pumpkin in the middle of the floor in front of the tv. Both he and Tommy took off their coats and shoes. Tommy turned up the thermostat in the room before sitting down in front of the pumpkin with the marker.

“We should put on some music,” Tommy said, getting his phone out of his back pocket.

“No ‘90s rap, please,” Jon said.

Tommy gasped. “Okay. Wow.”

Jon laughed, sitting down beside Tommy. “Something relaxing.”

“Piano for the piano guy?” Tommy asked.

“Sure,” Jon shrugged. Tommy hit play on the “Piano Jazz” playlist. It was relaxing, coffeeshop type background music. Probably good for focusing on the pumpkin carving.

Tommy picked up the marker again. “Okay so what are we doing?”

“Well, it’s our baby, so...” Jon started, making Tommy giggle.

“So, a babyface?”

“Yeah. Maybe, like, a cute monster face.”

“First, cute eyes.”

Tommy drew the eyes - simple circles, since the pumpkin wasn’t that big. Jon nodded and said that they looked good. He leaned closer to Tommy.

“I think it should be like a smiling mouth with one tooth,” Tommy suggested.

“Yeah,” Jon agreed.

Tommy drew what he had in mind. He ended up making the smile kind of crooked, but it worked. Jon had a bit of a crooked smile; Tommy had round eyes. It was really their offspring then...except for the one buck tooth, on the right of its face.

“Okay. There’s Peter,” Tommy capped the marker.

Jon sighed. “Now we have to gut him.”

“Probably should’ve gutted him first. Eh, I don’t think it matters.”

They both laughed. They sucked at this.

“Hand me the knife,” Tommy said.

“Not something I usually hear from you,” Jon quipped, standing on his knees to get the knife off the desk. He handed it to Tommy carefully.

Jon got out his phone and filmed Tommy cut off the top of the pumpkin. Tommy correctly guestimated how far down to make the cut. When be took the top off it was hollow except for the guts inside. Tommy reached in and took out a handful. Since it wasn’t a big pumpkin, it only took about two more handfuls for them to be mostly out. Then Tommy just got all the excess out with his hand, all the random seeds left behind.

“Someone doesn’t want to get their hands dirty,” Tommy said to Jon, who was still filming.

“Nope,” Jon said with a laugh. He stopped the video and put his phone away.

“Now, we make him,” Tommy said, turning to Jon dramatically. “We make our son.”

Jon chuckled. “You’re so weird.”

Tommy took the knife again and carefully cut out Peter the Pumpkin’s eyes. He poked through them with his finger to make the pumpkin rind fall out. Then Tommy moved on to the mouth.

Jon looked at his phone again for one second when, all of a sudden, he heard Tommy hiss and shout, “God dammit!!!”

“What?” Jon asked.

He immediately realized what was up. Tommy was holding his finger, pretty close to his hand. He’d cut himself. Jon bolted to the bathroom to get a towel.

“How bad is it?” Jon asked.

“Just a little nick I think. God damn, it hurts though,” Tommy hissed again, taking the towel from Jon.

“I’ll go get a bandaid and some ointment,” Jon said, grabbing his phone before leaving the room to go down to the front desk.

Charlotte was worried about Tommy at first, but when Jon told her it wasn’t that bad of a cut, she made a joke about how she was right not to trust them with her knife. She got two bandaids and ointment from the first aid kit behind the desk. Jon thanked her and went back upstairs, taking the stairs two at a time.

Back in the room, Jon knelt beside Tommy. He took Tommy’s hand - the left one, the one he held all afternoon. He peeled the towel off it. The bleeding had stopped. The cut was, all in all, about the length of a dime, and thankfully not too deep.

“Should probably rinse it off,” Jon suggested. He held both of Tommy’s hands and helped him stand up. They went to the bathroom. Tommy leaned against the counter in front of the sink and let Jon take care of him.

Jon made sure the water wasn’t too hot before running Tommy’s whole hand under it, rinsing off the pumpkin guts. He waited until the red was mostly gone from his cut and then shut the water off. He dabbed it dry with the clean end of the towel Tommy had held on it. He put a dab of ointment on the cut, unwrapped the bandage, and made sure not to touch it before aligning the pad with the cut and wrapping it around Tommy’s finger, not too tight. Jon threw away the bandage wrapper, tossed the gross hand towel in the corner of the room on the floor.

Tommy just stared at him. Jon took Tommy’s hand in both of his and lifted it up so he could kiss Tommy’s finger, right on the bandage.

“There,” Jon said, moving to hold Tommy’s hand normally. “All better.”

Tommy blushed, smiling at Jon closed-mouthed. He threaded their fingers together. “Thank you.”

They went back out to the main room. Jon decided he would finish the carving. He very, very carefully carved the pumpkin’s mouth out. Once it was done, Peter the Pumpkin had a cute face. They realized that they didn’t have a candle, but maybe it was best that they didn’t play with fire if they couldn’t even handle a carving knife. Jon set Peter on the bureau, wrapped his guts in the newspaper, and threw them in the wastebasket.

Tommy sat on the floor against his bed. Jon sat back down beside him, reaching for his hand.

“Well, that was an adventure,” Jon said.

“I know, I’m an idiot.”

Jon laughed and rested his head on Tommy’s shoulder. “I meant like, the whole day. And it’s not even dinner time yet.”

“Yeah. I wonder if it’ll scar,” Tommy said of his finger.

“Probably.”

“Then I’ll really remember this day,” Tommy said. “I already would’ve, though.”

Jon lifted his head up. He turned toward Tommy, draping his legs over Tommy’s lap. “Hmm?”

“Because today was the day I finally held your hand.”

Jon felt his heart flutter in his chest. He looked down at his and Tommy’s hands. He never wanted to let go. Jon leaned forward, and pressed his forehead against Tommy’s.

“There’s another first, you know,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jon murmured. He tilted his head a bit and hesitated only a second before he pressed his lips to Tommy’s. It was the most natural thing in the world, the best thing in the world. Tommy reached up with his free hand to hold Jon’s face, along his jaw. Jon parted his mouth for Tommy, making an involuntary light moaning sound. It was the best kiss he’s ever had, on the floor of that room at the inn while piano music played in the background.

They pulled back eventually, stayed in place. They smiled before leaning in for another kiss, another, and another. Jon pressed his forehead against Tommy’s again. He reached up with his free hand and touched Tommy’s soft cheek with the back of his hand.

Jon realized it was dark in the room, and freezing. He and Tommy decided to turn the lamps on, and turn the heat up some more. Tommy was on his phone, walking over to Jon’s bed.

“What are you doing?” Jon asked softly.

Tommy set his phone on the bedside. Instead of piano, Tommy had changed it so that Jason Isbell was softly playing out of the speaker. Tommy grinned at Jon closed-mouthed. Jon sighed, stared at Tommy and his wind-blown blonde hair in awe before walking over to him. Jon stood in front of him, leaned over him, held his face in both hands. Tommy gently set his hands on Jon’s waist. Still grinning, Jon rubbed his nose against Tommy’s before straddling his lap. Tommy waited a moment, and then wrapped his arms around Jon’s midsection and sent them both down onto the bed. Jon giggled as Tommy pressed kisses all over his face. Tommy moved to lay on top of Jon, and Jon wrapped his arms around Tommy’s neck.

Tommy kissed Jon on the cheek. “Hey, Jon,” he said.

“Hmm?”

“I like kissing you,” Tommy whispered. He inched down to kiss Jon’s neck, and Jon’s breathy laugh turned into a sigh.

~

“We don’t have to get dinner. We have brownies and cookies.”

“And peanut butter spoons.”

“And peanut butter spoons.”

“God, I’ll have to fucking hit the gym after this.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me, Favreau.”

Pressed up against him in the twin bed, Jon caressed Tommy’s cheek, and kissed him again.

~

They did, in fact, have provisions in the room: they had Priyanka’s brownies, Tori’s cookies, peanut butter, protein bars, and apples. It was enough for now. Neither of them wanted to leave the room. How could they leave when it was nice and warm inside while the cold wind blew outside, when Leo and Lucca were curled up on the foot of the bed? Jon was more than okay with staying in bed all evening, his legs tangled in Tommy’s. They watched TV, ate their snacks, and played fetch with the dogs in between cuddling, until they decided it was time to actually sleep.

It was way, way earlier than when they usually go to bed, but it was hard to overstate how happy Jon was in that bed with Tommy. Time was of the essence – tomorrow they’d have to say goodbye to this little sanctuary with sailboats on the walls. Jon, with his head on Tommy’s warm, solid chest, stared out the window at the moonlit trees. He felt at pure peace.

Tomorrow, before they left, Jon wanted to press his hand against the glass and feel the cold, golden air seep into his skin.

~

Right before Jon awoke, he dreamt in flashback of a winter night at the Chicago house in 2007. Tommy was about to leave for Iowa, and at the end of their “going away” house party they’d thrown, he and Jon retreated to Jon’s room. They sat on Jon’s bed with the television on, but mostly focused on each other. They talked about anything and everything, including but not limited to: Tommy’s fears about going away, Jon’s fears about Tommy going away, and reassurances that Tommy would of course come back. Jon had the fleeting thought that he wished Tommy could stay in his bed that night, not reckoning with what that desire implied about him and their relationship.

That reckoning finally happened twelve years later. Jon woke up to see the back of Tommy’s head, his arm around Tommy’s waist, and Tommy’s hand was over his. Jon knew he wanted Tommy like this for the rest of the foreseeable future.

Jon shifted downward to lightly press his lips to the back of Tommy’s neck. Tommy stirred a moment later, turning around to face Jon. He had an adorable smile on his face.

“Morning,” Tommy mumbled.

“You’re awake too?” Jon asked.

“For a few minutes.”

“Weird. Me too.”

Tommy’s hand came up to caress Jon’s jawline. “Spend too much time together.”

“True. I should be sick of you,” Jon teased.

Tommy rolled them over, pushing Jon onto his back. He kissed Jon solidly on the lips. It was short but passionate, for Tommy cut himself off to pull back and look at Jon. His piercing gaze made Jon feel squirmy.

“You ready?” Tommy asked.

Jon pursed his lips, momentarily confused, as he was still waking up. Ready for what? Exploring this new and wonderful part of their relationship? Ready to get going for the day? Today and every day after this, with Tommy?

“Yes,” Jon replied.

Tommy kissed Jon once quickly again before rolling off of him with an unusual energy for it being morning. Tommy was notoriously not a morning person. Going to bed early must’ve left him well-rested.

Tommy walked toward the bathroom but stopped at the big window, the one Jon had gazed out of the night before. He watched the wind blow the last of the golden leaves off the trees and onto the grass in the dim pre-sunrise light. The window had accumulated condensation in the corners and around the edges. It must’ve been very cold last night. Tommy pressed his hand against the glass, expression filled with awe like a small child.

Jon climbed out of bed and approached Tommy from behind. He wrapped his arms around Tommy’s waist, hooking his chin on Tommy’s shoulder - a slight reach, since Tommy was slightly taller. Jon hummed happily as he hugged Tommy. A moment later, Tommy moved his hand from the window to where Jon’s arms were around his waist. His hand was cold, and it gave Jon a slight shiver that he found pleasant.

They extracted themselves from the window and each other long enough to get ready. Tommy showered first, but Jon stayed in the bathroom to talk to him. Jon felt the tension between them rising, ratcheted up even higher than it was at this time yesterday morning. The slow pace they were moving at was oddly captivating. Jon especially thought so when Tommy was finished with his shower and opened the curtain, towel slung low on his waist. He smirked at Jon, who was sitting on the closed toilet lid. Tommy bent down to kiss him, warm wet hands and all, before leaving the bathroom.

Packing up all their stuff, however, was less fun and sexy, and more sad. They had told Charlotte they didn’t need breakfast this morning, since they were leaving so early to start their day. They ate the rest of Priyanka’s brownies and Tori’s cookies for breakfast. Tommy didn’t make a comment about needing to go to the gym, which Jon was happy for. They were carb-ed up and ready for… wait, Jon thought, what exactly was on the itinerary today?

“What’s the plan for today?” he asked Tommy, sat on the chair in the corner. Tommy sat on the edge of the nearest bed.

“Oh, uh,” Tommy said, finishing his mouthful of cookie. “I was hoping you had something you wanted to do.”

“What? Really?” Jon said, shocked. He was always under the impression that Tommy was planning this whole trip. Jon thought he made it clear he was leaving all this up to Tommy, that he’d be happy to go wherever Tommy wanted. Tommy must not have gotten the hint.

“Yeah,” Tommy said. “Don’t you?”

“No. I mean I could try and think of something, but,” Jon shrugged.

“Something preferably between here and Boston,” Tommy pointed out. “We don’t want to miss our flight.”

“Okay, uh…” Jon trailed off. He racked his brain for interesting things between where they were and Boston. It was hard not to think of home, but that was over and up. Worcester was a possibility, his old college stomping grounds, but he doubted Tommy wanted to go there. What would they do anyway? Jon would only think about his life pre-Tommy, and while it had good parts, he wasn’t in the mood right now.

Jon thought some more. He opened up Google Maps on his phone for ideas. A few minutes passed until he remembered the thought he had yesterday.

“We could visit your mom,” he said.

“Really?” Tommy asked. Jon immediately frowned. Why did he sound skeptical?

“Yeah, is that - would you not like that?”

“No, I would, I just - I did actually think about that, but…” Tommy trailed off, crossing his arms.

“But what?” Jon prodded.

“I thought that might be too… personal. Like, are we at that level? I don’t know, so I just said, ‘forget it’.”

Jon scoffed. “‘At that level’? Tommy… you realize our families had Thanksgiving together last year, right?”

There was a long pause. “Oh. Jeez, you’re right...” Tommy itched the back of his head. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Jon got up and crossed the distance between him and Tommy. He put his hands on Tommy’s cheeks. “Let’s surprise Louise! Please, Tommy. She’ll love it.”

Tommy brought his hands up, lightly held Jon’s wrists. “Okay. Yeah, let’s do it.”

~

Jon watched Tommy take pictures of their room before they left. They fed the dogs before they left. Once they had everything, they went downstairs, feeling awfully sad. Both Charlotte and Lynn were at the front desk. Tommy set his and Jon’s tiny cute monster pumpkin on the desk.

“We can’t take him with us,” Tommy said in greeting.

“You guys keep it,” Jon finished his sentence.

Charlotte and Lynn exchanged a look before Lynn turned the pumpkin named Peter around to look at its face. She smiled, laugh lines becoming visible on her face. Charlotte grinned, too. “Thank you, boys.”

“I guess this is it,” Tommy sighed. He was notoriously bad at goodbyes. Jon didn’t blame him.

“We’ll definitely be coming back,” Jon said. He set their key on the desk.

“Sooner rather than later, I hope,” Charlotte said. “You know, it’s beautiful here in the summer, too.”

“Yeah,” Jon and Tommy said in unison.

“Safe travels, you two,” Lynn said.

“Take care,” Tommy said. Jon just smiled, and the two were on their way out the door, Leo and Lucca at their feet.

~

Jon hadn’t been in Louise’s new, down-sized placed since she moved from Dedham to Dover. He was giddy and nervous at the same time. Tommy, Jon could tell, felt the same way. He tapped the steering wheel along to the ‘60s rock that was playing on the radio while he drove even more vigorously than normal. Jon cuddled the dogs.

The drive gave them beautiful views of the leaves. The wind was blowing awfully hard, and so the leaves seemed to be swirling as if in a snow globe. Tommy kept glancing over at Jon instead of focusing on the road. Jon finally decided to say something on the sixth or seventh time.

“Focus on the road. We don’t need to crash a rental,” Jon teased.

“Sorry,” Tommy replied in earnest. “You’re just really… really cute.”

Jon blushed. “Why, thank you. You’re cute, too, Tommy.”

Jon turned to Tommy and met his eyes. Tommy grinned, chuckling a little under his breath before shifting his gaze back to the road.

“Thank you,” Tommy said.

“But still,” Jon said, pulling up twitter on his phone, “Eyes on the road.”

~

Tommy parked a few houses down from Louise’s place so as not to ruin the surprise. Tommy did text her asking how she was doing and what she was up to, so he knew she was home on this fine Sunday. Jon was about to get out of the car when Tommy stopped him.

“Hey, hold up,” Tommy said.

Jon took his fingers off the door handle and angled towards Tommy. “What’s up?”

“Before we go in there, I think it’s - I think it would be,” Tommy stuttered. “I just want to make sure we’re on the same page when it comes to…” Tommy trailed off, gesturing between him and Jon with his hand.

“Us?” Jon prompted.

“Yeah. Like, I’m fully prepared to go in there holding your hand, but I just want to make sure you’re okay with that.”

Jon smiled, touched by Tommy’s openness. He reached for his hand over the center console.

“Yes, I’m okay with that,” Jon said. “Very.”

“Okay. And, you know, if we go in holding hands, she might wanna know what’s up, so what should we say?” Tommy asked.

“That we’re -“ Jon started but paused for a second, thinking of the right word. “Uh, together? If you want to be, that is.”

Tommy’s cheeks went red. He brought his other hand up to hold Jon’s hand in both of his. Tommy rubbed his thumb gently across the top of Jon’s hand.

“I do,” Tommy murmured. “I do want to be. Do you?”

Jon felt warm everywhere. He smiled. “I do.”

“Okay,” Tommy smiled back.

Jon leaned in for a kiss, which Tommy met him halfway for. Jon ended up smiling into it too much they had to pull back.

“Taking your boyfriend home to Mom a few minutes after getting together,” Jon teased, “This is moving so fast.”

“Shut up...boyfriend,” Tommy affectionately replied.

~

And so Jon and Tommy walked about five minutes down the sunny street with an old town charm, hand in hand, with Leo and Lucca. The leaves here were mostly golden, with a few trees that were bright red. The houses were nicely decorated, some with Halloween-themed dressings, most with generic autumn ones. A few American flags. Since it was a Sunday morning, residents were out and about. they passed a runner, someone doing yard work, and a couple out for a walk with their baby in a stroller.

When they got to Tommy’s mom's place, Jon and Tommy exchanged a look of excitement. Tommy knocked on the front door in a short rhythm of three knocks. A few moments passed before the deadbolt unlocked and the door opened. Louise peaked out. When she saw her son, she opened the door the whole way, and opened the screen door.

“Tom!” she said, grinning. She opened the door for them the whole way, inviting them in. Tommy and Jon both came in, and Louise made sure to hold the door for the dogs. She seemed so surprised she didn’t know what to say.

“Tommy!” she exclaimed again once they were inside. She hugged Tommy before moving on to Jon.

“And Jon!” she said, equally excited, wrapping him in a fierce hug. Jon hugged her back.

Louise bent down to greet the dogs. “You even brought them! This is so nice.”

“We were around. Thought we’d drop by,” Jon explained.

Louise encouraged them to take off their shoes and coats. They did so, while Louise stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the arched entryway to the rest of the house, the living room to the left and the kitchen to the right.

“Actually, it was Jon’s idea,” Tommy said. They all went into the kitchen. Louise still had morning coffee left over, so she offered them some.

“Jon’s idea, huh,” Louise said as she poured them mugs. “I always knew he was a good influence on you, Tommy.”

Jon and Tommy laughed as she brought over their mugs. She got plain half and half from the fridge and set it on the table for them.

“That I am,” Jon agreed.

“Don’t be giving him a complex, Mom,” Tommy protested.

“So really now - what brought you out here?” Louise asked, hands around her own mug. “It couldn’t have just been me.”

Jon and Tommy looked at each other, sitting kitty corner at the dining room table. Jon could hear Leo and Lucca playfully batting at each other under their feet.

“We wanted an escape from the LA heat,” Tommy said.

“We missed fall,” Jon said.

“Both good reasons,” Louise smiled, taking a sip of coffee. She had previously professed, when Mark and Lillian decided to move to South California, that she wouldn’t do well in that climate.

“So we stayed at this little bed and breakfast, like forty-five minutes from Wachusett mountain, you know the one with the ski slopes? The B&B was near a neat pumpkin patch, that’s why I picked it. We did the full, you know, pick a pumpkin and carve it thing. Walked through some leaves. Oh I got this from carving,” Tommy showed his mom the now-scabbed over cut on the inside of his left index finger.

Louise laughed. “Oh, Tommy. That doesn’t surprise me.”

“So I finished carving it for him.” Jon said.

“Not before tending to my wound,” Tommy smiled, nudged Jon in the arm with his elbow. “He’s a good nurse.”

“That also doesn’t surprise me,” Louise grinned at Jon.

“Okay,” Tommy scoffed, glancing between them.

“What?” Louise threw her hand up, laughing. “I know you boys!”

Jon and Tommy laughed. Jon, feeling like the timing was right, reached for Tommy’s hand under the table. Tommy looked at him, and Jon gave him a slight nod, wordlessly saying, yeah, let’s tell her.

“Oh yeah, Mom. We, uh - we have something to tell you,” Tommy said.

“Okay,” Louise said, neutral in tone and expression.

“Jon and I are dating now.”

Jon watched the smile bloom on Tommy’s mother’s face. He could tell she was so happy for them. She sat back in her chair, taking the news in.

“Really?” Louise asked, hand covering her mouth.

“Yep,” Tommy said, grinning at Jon and then back to his mom.

Jon added, “Really.”

“Since when?” Louise asked, curious, leaning forward again with her elbows on the table.

“Technically? Uh, twenty minutes ago.” Tommy said, erupting into giggles when he finished his sentence. Jon did the same, realizing how ridiculous they are.

“Finally!” Louise sighed.

“Oh?” Tommy raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve been - I mean, Mark and Lil have too - We’ve been wondering when you were gonna get it together,” Louise explained. Lucca hopped up on the empty chair beside her, and so she pet her, leaning in close to her.

Jon scrubbed a hand over his face. In retrospect, he could understand why. Thanksgiving last year. All the family dinners. All the… everything. He looked to Tommy and then around the room, both of them blushing. Louise even had a picture of Jon and Tommy from Jon’s LA housewarming party on her fridge –Tommy’s arm around Jon’s waist, Jon pressed close to him so familiarly.

“Yeah, well,” Tommy looked at Jon, “Better late than never.”

“Don’t say that,” Louise put her palm on the table in Tommy’s direction. “It wasn’t late. Some things just take awhile.”

Jon nodded. “What she said.”

Tommy smiled at Jon. A beat later, he joked, “Okay, we get it, you’re auditioning to be the favorite son-in-law.”

Jon shrugged, not denying it or admitting to it. They all laughed. There was some truth there. Tommy’s mom’s opinion was important to Jon.

“Do you guys want something to eat?” Louise asked.

Leo went over to Louise’s feet. He got up on his hind legs, paws on her chair.

“Someone definitely does,” Tommy said.

~

They stayed at Tommy’s mom’s for another two hours, long enough for them to make and eat a nice brunch. After eating, they did the dishes and chatted about the news. Louise gave Tommy some updates on relatives and family friends he remembered, and some he didn’t. He updated her on all their friends, the new employees, and of course, Lovett.

“Oh, I’m sure you heard he and Ronan are engaged,” Tommy said.

Louise almost dropped the plate she was holding.

“What?!” she exclaimed.

“Okay, that was all over the actual news,” Tommy laughed.

“Yeah, ‘cause they’re actually famous,” Jon said.

“Get with it, ma,” Tommy joked.

Louise swatted her son with the dish towel she was holding.

“Who else is getting together, my goodness,” Louise wondered.

“Uh, I think Elijah just got a G-F. Oh, and my neighbor’s been having this same guy over all the time, so there’s hope there,” Tommy said.

Jon rolled his eyes.

Tommy shrugged. “It is cuffing season.”

Jon shook his head in disbelief, exchanging a look of affectionate annoyance with Louise.

When they decided they should get on the road, Jon and Tommy hugged Louise tight and told her they’d be back soon. Perhaps for Thanksgiving. Or Christmas. The thought of doing Christmas with Tommy, as a couple, made Jon thrilled.

“Let me know when you guys get home safe,” Louise said just before she closed the door for them.

“We will,” Jon said.

“Bye, love you,” Tommy said.

“Love you, too,” Louise said to Tommy. She then looked at Jon. “And you.”

Jon thought his heart was going to burst. He smiled at Louise. “Bye.”

Outside, Leo and Lucca both took pees on the shrubs by the sidewalk in the yard before they started back towards the car. The sun was just as bright, the leaves just as swirling, the day just as perfect - or, perhaps even more - than when they’d walked up the street.

“So we have Mom’s approval,” Tommy swung his and Jon’s conjoined hands back and forth while they walked.

“Yeah. I’m glad,” Jon smiled, looking around at the pretty houses and then at Tommy.

“We’ll have to pop by chez Favreau when we get home,” Tommy raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t know,” Jon decided to mock the Tommy of that morning. “I’m just worried like, are we on that level?”

“Shut up,” Tommy knocked their shoulders together.

~

As they drove east, the vibrant autumn weather disappeared. They appeared to be driving into a storm. Clouds gathered and it started to rain. It was still pretty, in a macabre way, but it wasn’t nice to drive in. Luckily Tommy was better at driving in heavy rain than Jon.

The wind blew so hard they could feel it against the car.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Jon said, petting Lucca while heat from the vent rustled her fur.

“Bet you we’re gonna be delayed,” Tommy said.

Jon made a face of disgust. “Ugh, don’t say that.”

“Just sayin’,” Tommy said. “Prepare thyself.”

“Ugh,” Jon slouched in his seat.

~

Jon wanted to do some touristy things in Boston, which Tommy enthusiastically agreed to. Only indoor things were on the table - the weather was even worse by the time they got to the city. However, finding spots that allowed dogs proved to be difficult.

“You wanna just see if we can get an earlier flight?” Tommy suggested.

Jon sighed. They were close to the airport rental car drop off.

“I don’t know,” Jon said. “Not really, but, I don’t know. It does look bad out.”

“Yeah. Check the forecast, see when it’s gonna get better,” Tommy suggested.

Jon opened his phone and got on the weather app. He opened a more detailed forecast and immediately let out a groaning noise.

“It’s gonna get worse before it gets better, Tommy.”

“Oof,” Tommy shook his head. “Well. We’ll see if we can go home now. And if not, Logan isn’t that bad.”

Jon laughed under his breath. Boston Logan was, in fact, a much better airport to chill in than LAX. “True.”

They dropped off the rental car and took a short shuttle to the airport. Before going through security, they sat on a bench and looked for earlier flights. There was an earlier one, but it had been delayed and therefore was currently boarding. It was too late to get on it.

“Nothing,” Tommy said.

“Yay,” Jon said sarcastically. He picked up Leo like a baby. “We have four hours to kill in the airport!”

“Or more,” Tommy mumbled.

Jon shook his head. “Nope.”

~

Post-security, they went around to some of the airport bars, but they all kicked them out for having dogs. Finally, one let them stay. Tommy ordered yet another fall beer from a brewer he’d never heard of, while Jon had a gin and tonic.

Jon was moping - very dramatically, openly moping. Tommy reached up and rubbed a soothing hand up and down his back.

“It’ll be okay,” Tommy said.

Jon desperately wanted to put his head on Tommy’s shoulder, but their current seating arrangement wouldn’t allow it. “Thanks.”

“I’m in a mood, too,” Tommy said. “Stupid Nor’easter.”

“I just - I wanted to see the leaves in Boston Common,” Jon complained.

“I know, baby,” Tommy kept his arm around Jon. “Me too.”

On one TV above the bar, local news was doing a report on the storm. Cape Cod was an absolute mess, and it was coming their way.

After they finished their drinks, they went in search of a nice sitting area. They found one with outlets to plug their phones in. Jon personally hated the feeling of sitting in an airport - it only built his anxiety for the upcoming flight rather than calmed it. Especially on a day when it was storming like it was. He was a mess. At least now he could pillow his head on Tommy’s shoulder.

Tommy was sharing international relations memes that Ben had sent him with Jon. Jon didn’t always understand them, but he laughed from Tommy’s laugh.

Tommy had just leaned his head against Jon’s when a voice came over the loudspeaker.

“Delta Flight 1183 to Los Angeles is now canceled due to inclement weather. All passengers may seek accommodations at gate A19. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Tommy stared up at the ceiling, while Jon just stared straight ahead.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Tommy said.

Jon lifted his head off Tommy’s shoulder. “You wanna see if there’s another flight?”

Tommy shook his head. “Storm’s only getting worse. We won’t get out of here ‘til late.”

“Might as well just stay the night?” Jon ventured. “Get a morning flight?”

“That sounds like a good idea to me,” Tommy shrugged. “I’ll do the flight, you find a hotel?”

“Okay,” Jon said, pulling out his phone, putting his head back on Tommy’s shoulder.

His mood improved exponentially in just a few minutes.

~

They held hands in their Lyft to the hotel downtown, near the old State House. Jon decided to pick a really nice one, a surprise for Tommy of sorts. It would be a total 180 from the bed and breakfast, but that was okay. He was excited for a bed bigger than a twin.

They put all their stuff in the room and decided they could leave Leo and Lucca alone with their own dinner and treats while they ate at the on-site restaurant downstairs. It had mood lighting and good food, albeit a selection more like the LA snobbery they were accustomed to now. They switched things up and had white wine with their meal. Jon complained, and Tommy wondered why he didn’t speak up and say he’d prefer a red.

“I don’t know,” Jon shrugged, putting his head in his hand. “‘M tired of talking.”

Tommy held out his hand for Jon over the table. Jon took it. Tommy fondly gazed at him. Jon felt like he was in a romance movie all of a sudden.

“You know what?” Jon thought aloud.

“Thought you didn’t feel like talking,” Tommy smirked.

“Shut up,” Jon said before getting to his thought, dropping his voice. “I think this was supposed to happen - this storm.”

Tommy’s interest piqued, he wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Jon murmured. “The universe wanted us to spend another night in together.”

“Well in that case, hell yeah, universe,” Tommy held out his wine in toast. Jon clanked his glass against Tommy’s and took a sip. He made a face and stuck out his tongue at how dry it was.

Tommy giggled. “I love when you do that.”

“Hmm?”

“The tongue thing. Cute.”

Jon playfully stuck out his tongue at Tommy.

They didn’t finish their food before they decided it was time to go up to the room for the night.

~

Jon unlocked and opened the door with one hand. He pulled Tommy in with the other. It was much more than they needed, with a huge bed and a full living area and a huge bathroom and a window overlooking the city. Leo and Lucca sat on the couch, staring at their guardians.

Jon smiled at the dogs before wrapping his arms around Tommy’s neck and kissing him. Tommy kissed back, eager, his hands roaming Jon’s back before settling at his waist. He toed off his shoes and pushed Jon in the direction of the humongous bed, licking into his mouth. He made Jon unable to walk, weak in the knees. Jon fell backwards once the back of his legs hit the bed. He sighed, gazing up at Tommy.

Tommy bent down, then, disappearing. Jon felt heat pool in his gut. He lifted himself up onto his elbows to watch him.

Tommy was at Jon’s feet, untying Jon’s white sneakers.

“Hmm,” Jon hummed contentedly.

Once Jon’s shoes and socks were off, Tommy reverently ran his palms up Jon’s calves and thighs as he rose to his feet. He climbed on top of Jon, straddling him, hands on either side of his head. Jon’s hands automatically went up to Tommy’s waist, fingertips just under his shirt. Even just that little bit of skin was so tantalizing it made Jon’s breath hitch in his throat.

“Tommy,” Jon murmured, closing his eyes momentarily as he gripped the hem of Tommy’s shirt.

“Hmm?”

“Can - can I -”

“Yeah,” Tommy nodded. Jon took off Tommy’s shirt, peeling it up and over his head. Jon’s mouth fell open as he got his hands on Tommy’s chest, his pectorals, and slowly moved his palms downward. Jon found his main desire right now was to touch Tommy - to see him and feel him, everywhere, like he’s wanted for so long. Jon felt crazed with it. Once his hands reached Tommy’s belt, he undid it, looking to Tommy’s face for encouragement. Tommy, with his lips parted, nodded and Jon unbuttoned Tommy’s jeans and unzipped them. Tommy shifted to the side and took them off, hurriedly sliding them down his legs until he could kick them off.

After that, Tommy was just as desperate to get Jon’s shirt off. Jon sat up and let Tommy do the same for him. Tommy let out a slight moan once he saw Jon shirtless, another one once he was down to his underwear, both of them sitting on the bed. Once they moved up closer to the pillows, Jon took the opportunity to press Tommy onto his back. Jon layed on top of him and kissed him, deep and open mouthed. Jon quickly gave in to his desire to kiss Tommy elsewhere - he lazily moved his mouth to Tommy’s cheek, then his neck. Jon kept sliding down so he could kiss down Tommy’s chest. Tommy made satisfied sighing sounds and lightly held the back of Jon’s head.

When Jon got past Tommy’s belly button, he took the waistband of Tommy’s briefs in his grip. He flitted his eyes up to Tommy. Tommy nodded, and Jon pulled his underwear down past his thighs. Jon’s mouth was agape as he stared at Tommy’s half-hard cock. He locked eyes with Tommy for a short, heavy moment before taking him in his hand.

“Fuck,” Tommy hissed immediately. Jon guessed that he, too, felt the furtive desire that Jon did, the itch that came from not touching the person he most wanted to touch for years and years. Finally, both of them were being soothed of that pain. Jon bent down and sucked the tip of Tommy’s cock into his mouth, twisting his hand around the rest of it, feeling Tommy grow fully hard. Jon licked up Tommy’s cock on instinct before going down on his again, further this time. Tommy bucked his hips up a little, which Jon could tell he was restraining himself from doing too much. Jon heard Tommy’s soft moans above him as he started up a rhythm, holding him at the base and steadily bobbing his head up and down.

“Jon,” Tommy sounded desperate, his fingertips in Jon’s hair. Jon reached a hand up Tommy’s chest, still aching to touch him more. Tommy moved his one hand from the back of Jon’s head. Jon felt it again a moment later, grabbing for his own hand. Tommy took Jon’s hand and threaded their fingers together, in the air as if they were praying.

Jon blinked his eyes open and noticed Tommy contracting his abdominal muscles. The hand that was in Jon’s hair was now in the sheets, grappling for them. Tommy’s voice went into a higher register as he moaned. The sound was absolutely heavenly to Jon’s ears, and seemed to touch every part of him, from his head to his toes.

Jon took Tommy as far as he could into his throat for a few moments. And just when he was about to pull away, Tommy let out a high pitched moan and froze for a moment before shuddering, relaxing, and coming in Jon’s mouth. Tommy groaned and panted, chest rising and falling quickly. The fact that Jon was the one to do that to him made him feel tingly all over. He didn’t think twice before swallowing Tommy’s come in his mouth. Jon pulled off and licked his lips, looked up at Tommy.

“God,” Tommy said under his breath. He released Jon’s hand, but only so he could pull Jon up into his arms. Tommy rolled them over, pressed Jon into the sheets and kissed him, tongue sliding against Jon’s. Tommy’s hand held Jon in place, fingers spread over the side of his face. Tommy managed to hold himself up with his elbow and reached down with his other hand to take Jon’s cock in his hand. Jon flinched at the contact at first, only because he was so reactive and it felt so good. Tommy’s hands were - God, they were big, anchoring Jon down. Tommy swiped his thumb over the head of Jon’s cock before lifting his hand up, spitting into it before wrapping it around Jon again.

“Fuck, Tommy,” Jon panted.

“Yeah,” Tommy said, eyes locked on Jon. How unfair it was that Tommy got to avoid eye contact with Jon for the most part when Jon was sucking him off. Right now, Jon felt like Tommy was seeing into his soul. He loved it but it was, at the same time, too much. Jon found himself averting his gaze, turning his head to the side every so often.

Jon was startled back to Tommy’s sightline when he felt Tommy’s thumb at the hinge of his jaw. Tommy slipped his thumb into Jon’s mouth, and Jon groaned from deep in his throat. Jon felt his orgasm building as he sucked on Tommy’s thumb, moaning around it. Tommy started at him with his own mouth open, still breathing hard.

“Fuck, yes, Jon,” Tommy whispered.

“Mmm,” Jon rolled his hips up, fucking up into Tommy’s grip on his cock. He did this a few more times, eyes still locked on Tommy’s, before he finally came. Jon cried out and screwed his eyes shut. Tommy slid his thumb out of Jon’s open mouth as he stroked him through it. The next thing Jon felt was Tommy kissing down Jon’s chest, just like Jon did for him earlier. Tommy stopped to suck Jon’s nipples into his mouth, which made him shiver due to overstimulation.

When Tommy came back up, Jon wrapped his arms around him and pulled him onto his side. He kissed Tommy and then kissed him some more. He loved kissing Tommy.

Eventually their furtive pace slowed into something more languid. Tommy tangled his legs with Jon’s. He broke their kiss and met Jon’s gaze, ran his thumb over Jon’s bottom lip again. Jon purred, content and satisfied.

“Well,” Tommy whispered.

“Well,” Jon repeated, mumbly. “How ‘bout that.”

“Very good,” Tommy said.

“Mhmm,” Jon agreed. He ran his hand up and down Tommy’s side.

Tommy got a chill all of a sudden, shivering under Jon’s touch. “Mmph. Cold in here.”

Jon rubbed his hand over Tommy’s shoulder, his bare back. He contemplated getting them both under the covers, but then he had a better idea. “You wanna take a hot bath?”

“Is there one in there?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah. A big one,” Jon said.

“Then fuck yeah I wanna take a hot bath,” Tommy said. He kissed Jon before Jon could respond.

They climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom, turned on the light. Jon figured out the bath while Tommy sat on the edge, watching and waiting. Jon felt the water and adjusted it to the right temperature. They put some bubble bath in from the little caddy of complimentary toiletries that was sitting on the tub edge.

“No candles,” Tommy remarked. “Bummer.”

Jon giggled. He decided to get in even though the tub wasn’t full yet. Tommy copied him. He sat in the corner and Jon relaxed against him, sat in between his legs. He had to lean forward to turn off the water once the tub was full. He sighed when he relaxed back into Tommy, under the hot water. Tommy wrapped his arms around Jon, holding him close. Jon clasped his hands around Tommy’s forearm.

Jon yawned and said, “I just realized - we didn’t tell the Slack we won’t make it to work tomorrow.”

“We’ll do it in a bit,” Tommy said, voice low and sleepy.

After a few minutes, Jon ended up moving to sit beside Tommy, for he was worried they’d actually fall asleep in the position they were in. Jon threw his arm around Tommy’s shoulder and lazily kissed his cheek, nuzzled the side of his face. Tommy giggled, cheeks pink.

“I’m starting to feel pruney,” Tommy said eventually.

“Yeah,” Jon said.

The two let the tub drain a bit before starting up the water, rinsing the soapy water from the bubble bath off them with a cup - Tommy was adamant that he felt not only pruney, but also soapy. Jon humored him and rinsed him off. Once they were all rinsed, they stepped out of the bath, and Jon grabbed a fluffy towel off the rack and wrapped Tommy in it, placing the towel around his head so it framed his face, even though he didn't get his hair wet. Jon affectionately tapped Tommy once on the nose before getting his own towel.

“Hah,” Tommy said, smiling despite himself, as he pulled the towel down so it was around his shoulders normally. He dried off his chest before wrapping the towel around his waist.

They got ready for bed, silently milling about. They dressed in clean underwear and t-shirts, brushed their teeth, drank some water, went pee, gave Leo and Lucca each some water. Tommy set an alarm for the morning. Jon, sat up against the headboard in bed, messaged the Crooked slack channel an extremely truncated version of what happened that evening, why they wouldn’t make it back to LA until tomorrow.

“‘Storm hit so our flight was canceled. Didn’t feel like waiting for another one. We will hopefully be back tomorrow morning… exclamation point, thumbs up emoji,’” Jon read aloud as he typed for Tommy to hear.

“Awfully enthusiastic there, boss,” Tommy mumbled, teasing, cuddling into Jon’s side. Jon leaned away from him for a moment, across the huge bed, and put his iPad on the side table. He turned off the last lamp that was on and rejoined Tommy, slotting into place against him in the dark.

“Couldn’t tell them the whole story,” Jon said. “‘I wanted to cuddle with Tommy so we won't be returning home until tomorrow, sorry’ - I couldn’t say that.”

“Oh yeah, looks like we’ll have to tell everyone the news once we get back,” Tommy smiled.

“I’ll give Lovett a heads up tomorrow,” Jon said. “And I’ll just text Dan.”

“Fuck that - we’ll FaceTime him,” Tommy protested.

“Okay,” Jon sighed, pressing his head into the pillow.

Tommy leaned in, rubbed his nose against Jon’s nose before kissing him, short and sweet. Jon closed his eyes and smiled. Part of him still couldn’t believe this - being in bed with Tommy, kissing Tommy, sleeping with Tommy. This was how it was going to be now. All the time. Jon’s heart swelled.

“Hey, Tom?” Jon murmured, opening his eyes.

“Yeah?”

Jon took a deep breath in and out, preparing himself to finally say the words out loud. “I love you.”

Jon heard Tommy’s breath get caught in his throat. Tommy touched along Jon’s cheek with two fingertips, like he was delicate. “I love you too, Jon.”

“Goodnight,” Jon said before he rolled over so his back was facing Tommy. He pushed back into Tommy, and Tommy attached himself to him, arm over his waist, legs tangled together, their heads on one pillow.

“Goodnight.”

~

Jon woke up to find Tommy’s head on his chest. He petted his hair for a few moments, rubbed his arm. Jon leaned over to grab his phone off the bedside table. He yawned, looked at the time. And then he looked at the time again, and realized they somehow slept in an hour and a half later than what they’d planned.

Jon bolted out of bed and got to work putting on his joggers and hoodie, picking out a similar outfit for Tommy from his luggage. He fed the dogs and decided their walk and morning pee would have to come before they caught a Lyft to the airport.

Tommy, barely awake, sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. “Whaddayadoing?”

Jon came over to him and grabbed his face, kissing him firmly on the forehead. “We slept in. Flight leaves in an hour.”

Tommy made a groaning noise, put his head in his hands.

Jon shrugged. “Don’t know how it happened, but we gotta go.”

“I hit snooze on the alarm. Sorry,” Tommy grumbled, swinging his legs so his feet were on the floor.

Jon stared at him for a moment, then shook himself out of it. Lesson learned: don’t always trust Tommy with getting them up in the morning. Whatever. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t mad.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Jon said, an attempt to assuage Tommy’s pouting. “I picked out some clothes for you.” Jon pointed to the edge of the bed, where he set a white hoodie and grey joggers out for Tommy.

Tommy silently got dressed and slipped his shoes on. He sat on the edge of the bed with the dogs while Jon gathered the last of their things. It was the least Jon could do, after Tommy had taken the lead the rest of the trip. It was his turn.

“Lyft will be here in twenty minutes,” Jon told Tommy. He put on his coat, and Tommy did the same. Tommy decided to carry Lucca down to the lobby, burying his face in her fur. Jon desperately wanted to wrap Tommy up in his arms, but they had somewhere to be.

~

Jon and Tommy got some coffee and a light breakfast while they waited to board. Their new flight, thankfully, left on time. On the plane, Tommy settled in for the six and a half hour trip with his head on Jon’s shoulder, the inverse of where Jon found himself a lot the past few days.

Jon was blown away by how much he liked being taken care of and taking care of Tommy. Certain things made Jon need a caring hand, and Tommy was there. Today, Tommy needed Jon there. They were each the perfect person to handle the other’s dreary Mondays.

Jon got some work done on his iPad, propped on the tray table. Tommy just listened to music and watched what Jon was doing, occasionally chiming in when he had something to add. They’d officially left their autumn escape and returned to their lives, just like that.

At least Jon and Tommy wouldn’t be returning to the way they were before, Jon thought. Being Tommy’s best friend in a strictly platonic way was always great, but Jon knew he was made to be his lover.

Full to the brim with affection, Jon opened up his iMessage thread with Tommy. It last left off on the picture they took in the pumpkin patch. Jon scrolled up a little and saw their conversation from the night before they left for their trip, when they both professed how excited they were to each other.

Grinning, Jon typed, _I love you Tommyyyyyy_ into the box, with half a dozen hearts on the end. Jon watched Tommy pick up his phone. His pouty face immediately softened when he read it. He smiled and replied, _love you more._

~

They stayed at their own separate houses that night, so Jon found himself eager to get to the office to see Tommy on Tuesday morning. And to tell everyone that they were dating. But mostly just to see Tommy.

It wasn’t chilly and there were no autumn leaves around the office, but it was still pretty. It was still his and Tommy’s new home, another little self-contained universe.

Jon got to the office first, then Lovett, and then Tommy, oddly enough. Jon sat there and talked with Lovett like normal, although he kept looking toward the door. If Lovett noticed, he didn’t say anything.

Jon looked up from his desktop computer when he heard footsteps that were unmistakably Tommy’s. Jon grinned, blown away by how cute Tommy looked in his blue hoodie and khakis. A little piece of his hair was sticking to his forehead. He was perfect.

“Good morning, good morning,” Tommy said, eyes downcast until he locked eyes with Jon. Tommy smiled at him. He set his messenger bag on the chair of his desk before crossing the short distance to Jon’s. Jon gazed up at Tommy from his seat, and Tommy took Jon’s face in his hands, leaned down and kissed him, a short, loving greeting.

“Good morning,” Jon said. Tommy sat down at his desk.

All the while, Lovett was staring at them, jaw on the floor.

“So, uh…” Lovett started. “What happened in good ol’ Massachusetts?”

Jon and Tommy exchanged a look. Well, shit, Jon thought. He forgot to send Lovett that hey, Tommy and I have some news text. Tommy nodded in Jon’s direction, a silent way of telling him to go ahead.

“A lot of stuff,” Jon laughed.

Lovett shrugged. “I got time. Clearly, it was... monumental.”

Jon smiled. “It was,” he said, and began to tell this story.

**Author's Note:**

> -a big thank you to my pals who encouraged me to write this  
-i did some basic research but handwaved a lot of stuff - sorry if i fucked up, bay staters  
-i'm aspiringhooligan on tumblr, drop me a line, let's talk about the bros


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